Visit Napa Valley has bounced between a few agencies after leaving Simpleview in 2008, ultimately coming back to us in 2015, giving us a second chance. I was tasked with designing a new website for Napa that would not only create a better user experience but also assure the client that we were the best agency to work with.

Visitors to Napa experience the Good Life, where you can refresh your senses, taste delicious foods, drink world-class wines, walk through contemporary art galleries or stroll through a vineyard. These experiences are the ones that leave an impression. I wanted to find a way to create this experience digitally and so spent time brainstorming ways to delight the user and provide lasting memories. I found that the burlap bags, swirly grape vines, and the rich colors of the valley provided the inspiration that steered the design process.

In the design, I wanted to show off the experience you can have in Napa. Every title has a pressed feel, every background has a texture applied, and every photo has meaning and is rich in tone. One of my favorite interaction design details is the svg animation applied to the Social Garden. The grapevines grow around the title and provide an additional little “delight” for the web visitors and leave a lasting impression.